MIAMI, FL.- If the works of Cuban artist, Humberto Calzada has been historically couched in an unabashed nostalgia-ism for his homeland- mapping the territory of exile with emotional and psychological force- the new works aim to readdress his very own diasporic narrative. Works on the destructive and regenerative properties of fire by Calzada are the subject of the next Florida Artist Series exhibition, on view at The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum from October 12, 2011 through January 8, 2012.

Calzada, who was born in Cuba and lives in Miami, unveils this new artistic and formal language  deviating from his hard-edged approach to a more unpredictable painting style. This interplay between the past and the present indexes a self-referencing journey that serves to deconstruct and recreate both the artist and/in the work. Calzada seemingly poses an open question between the personal and historical past and the promise of its future.

The museum is also opening Magdalena Fernández: 2iPM009, a video installation which incorporates sound and movement of lines and colors and Modern Meals: Remaking American Foods from Farm to Kitchen in the Wolfsonian-FIU Teaching Gallery.

2iPM009Magdalena Fernández's video installation, 2iPM009, brings Geometric Abstraction to a new level of expression. During the past decade the Venezuelan-born artist (1964) has developed a body of kinetic sculptures and videos, that incorporate sound and movement of lines and colors. In 2iPM009, Fernández uses very sophisticated sound compositions to simulate rain and thunder. This exhibition, opening October 12, 2011 at The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum during Target Wednesday After Hours, includes visual imagery consisting of rapidly moving dots and lines that constantly change their configuration.

2iPM009 begins with barely audible sounds of light rain and the appearance of barely visible tiny dots. In perfectly measured timing, the dots begin to appear in greater quantity and with greater frequency, in effect evoking a twinkling starry night. The sensorial effects of sound and light are very dramatic. As the storm subsides, the imagery seems to reverse itself. It would appear natures cycle has come full circle. Ironically the sound is not real rain, but the simulation created by the Perpetuum Jazzile choir, whose artistic director conducts them to snap their fingers, clap their hands on their knees, and jump on the floorboards at different moments to create the sound of rain.